Steve's Digicams - Breaking News - Casio 02/15/2005 Press Release

New Stylish Exilim Zoom Digital Cameras -- New Features And Functions Improve Fun And Ease-Of-Use

EX-Z750: 7.2 Megapixel, High Quality Movie, Manual Photography
EX-Z57: Large 2.7-inch Liquid Crystal Display, Extended Battery Life

DOVER, NJ, February 15, 2005 – CASIO, Inc., in conjunction with its parent company, Casio Computer Co., Ltd., announced two stylish additions to its popular EXILIM® ZOOM series. The new EX-Z750 is equipped with an astonishing 7.2 megapixel imaging element and an array of high-tech features, while the new EX-Z57 boasts a large 2.7-inch liquid crystal display. Both cameras will be available at retail in April, MSRP is .99 for the EX- Z750 and .99 for the EX-Z57.

Casio’s EXILIM series of digital cameras embody advanced miniaturization and digital technologies, culminating in slim, compact bodies coupled with the latest in digital technologies, making them faster, smaller and more powerful. Casio’s EXILIM Engine and super long battery life technology, along with the latest in technology, put the EXILIM at the forefront of the digital camera market.

"We’re very proud to announce these two new additions to Casio’s EXILIM line. EXILIM ZOOM represents the perfect balance of form and function with its stylish body and advanced features," said John Clough, president of Casio, Inc. "Our customers look forward to our EXILIM products because we take their needs seriously and deliver superior, state-of-the- art cameras that are also fun and easy to use."

The EX-Z750 EXILIM ZOOM for truly enjoyable digital photography

The EX-Z750’s 7.2 megapixel CCD imaging element delivers superior picture quality with remarkably high definition, while the optical 3X zoom lens and large 2.5-inch liquid crystal display assure enjoyable operation. In addition to manual operation, an extremely versatile array of shooting functions enables a variety of photo effects. Using MPEG-4 format, high quality movies can also be taken in VGA size (640 x 480 pixels) at 30 frames per second. Of course, longer battery life enables the shooting of approximately 325 shots (CIPA standards)* on a battery charge. When set in its cradle, A/V signal output allows the user to view the photos or movies taken on an external video monitor such as television.

*CIPA "Standard Procedure for Measuring Digital Still Camera Battery Consumption":

Until recently there has been no standard measurement for battery life. This has resulted in inconsistencies between camera products and their catalogs and instruction manuals. As of December 2003, CIPA (Camera & Imaging Products Association) established the Standard Procedure for Measuring Digital Still Camera Battery Consumption, and hopes to reduce confusion among consumers by having this adopted by the world’s digital camera manufacturers and retailers.

The EX-Z750 is ideal for consumers who are looking to create superior images in challenging lighting conditions. Consumers can select aperture priority, shutter priority, or simply select from several unique "Best Shot" modes to enhance the images. The 0.9- second continuous shooting mode and low light assist, help capture sharp images such as fast action or low light scenes. The pre-record or "Past Movie" mode continuously captures 5 seconds of video automatically into buffer memory to ensure that the user records the critical video prior to pushing the shutter. Consumers can also select from several different "Movie Best Shot" modes and do simple video editing within the camera.

EX-Z750 MAIN FEATURES

7.2 Megapixel quality with versatile shooting functions

• Imaging CCD with an effective 7.2 megapixels, along with a 3X optical zoom lens enables high-quality, high-resolution photographs.

• Super-Life Battery enables up to 325 shots on a single charge (CIPA standards).

• AF assist light makes focus operation easier even in dark settings.

• High-speed start-up enables shooting approximately 0.9 seconds after the power is turned on. (with internal flash off, using internal memory)

• Release time lag of only 0.007 seconds means images are recorded approximately 0.007 seconds after the shutter is released. (with internal flash off)

• High-speed picture playback of approx. 0.1 seconds interval.

• Continuous shutter function enables photos to be taken in approximately 0.9 seconds intervals (using normal photo quality, 3072 x 2034 size).

• Manual exposure mode enables greater creativity for more enjoyable picture taking.

• Various manual settings can be quickly set on a single screen with EX Button.

• "Zoom continuous" enables automatic framing function that crops and resizes pictures to create optimally framed images, taking 2 images with a single press of the shutter.

• "ART SHOT" function enables pastel, illustration or cross-filter effect processing on the liquid crystal monitor during shooting to enable the creation of artistic photographs.

• ID photo function enables, with a single press of the shutter, the automatic layout and shooting of five differently sized portrait photos saved as 1 image, ideal for resumes and drivers licenses.

• "BEST SHOT" function enables the user to choose the desired setting from samples. (Includes ART SHOT (pastel, illustration or cross-filter), ID photo, and Business Shot)

• Using MPEG-4 format, videos may be shot in VGA size (640 x 480 pixels) at 30 frames per second.

• "MOVIE BEST SHOT": select a scene (includes fireworks, against the light and silent) from the samples to achieve the desired shooting effect.

• Approx. 2 hours and 50 minutes of movie shooting on a single battery charge (continuous recording).

• Past Movie function enables video recording to begin from five seconds before the shutter is pressed.

• Short Movie function enables the user to shoot a short video of approximately 8 seconds, centering on the time the shutter was pressed.

• "MOTION PRINT" function enables either 9 or 1 frames to be converted to a still photo.

• Movie Playback Zoom function enables zoom display during video playback.

• During Movie Playback Zoom, the position of the enlargement can be moved.

• Three types of Movie Editing operation (before, during or after) can be used to eliminate unwanted scenes.

• Equipped with a large 2.5-inch TFT color liquid crystal display, along with an optical viewfinder.

• High-speed USB 2.0 compatible for high-speed image transfer.

• A/V outputs in the camera cradle allow the viewing of photos or videos on an external video monitor such as television.

• The color LCD has two levels of brightness to choose from to suit users' needs.

• Photo Loader PC software included to enable automatic transfer of images to the user’s personal computer.

• Windows Media Player 9 video playback software and Ulead Video Studio video editing software included (trial version).

• Menu display can be set in 10 languages, including Chinese (simplified and traditional), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish

• Connects directly to PictBridge and USB DIRECT-PRINT compatible printers.

• ExifPrint (Exif 2.2) and PRINT Image Matching III compatibility.

The EX-Z57 EXILIM ZOOM for brilliant picture viewing

The extra-large 2.7-inch liquid crystal display represents an astonishingly easy-to-view screen for brilliant picture viewing without compromising its compact and stylish design. The EX-Z57 features a 5 megapixel CCD and an optical 3X zoom lens to take photos of remarkable picture quality. Extra-long battery life of approximately 400 shots (CIPA standards) on a single battery charge assures users that they can enjoy shooting and looking at their pictures over and over again without ever worrying about the battery life.

EX-Z57 MAIN FEATURES

High Performance Operation in an Easy-to-Use, Compact Design

• Equipped with a large, easy-to-view 2.7-inch digital interface TFT liquid crystal display that brings out the true brilliant quality of the pictures.

• High-resolution images captured by the CCD with 5 million effective pixels.

• Optical 3X zoom lens in a very compact design

• Sleek, stylish lightweight aluminum body with a comfortable grip

• Same battery life as the EX-Z55, but with a larger 2.7 inch LCD.

• Approximately 400 shots can be taken on a single battery charge (CIPA standards).

• The camera automatically selects fixed-focus Auto Pan Focus mode for instantaneous response when the shutter is depressed at one push.

• Direct On function for one-touch operation of either picture taking or playback modes.

• High-speed startup enables shooting approximately 1.6 seconds after the power is turned on. (with internal flash off, using internal memory)

• Release time lag of only 0.01 seconds means images are recorded approximately 0.01 seconds after the shutter is released. (with internal flash off)

• High-speed picture playback of approx. 0.1 seconds interval.

• Business Shot function compensates for photos taken at an angle and records them as though taken from straight ahead, useful for taking pictures of white boards and business cards.

• "BEST SHOT" allows settings to be chosen by selecting from a collection of sample images.

• Extended shooting of video with sound can be performed until the memory is full.

• Noise Reduction processing makes night scenes more beautiful.

• Auto Macro function enables automatic switching between Macro and AF modes.

• 7-point Multi-Auto Focus automatically selects the optimum focus point location.

• Flash Assist function provides exposure compensation for areas not reached by the flash.

• Icon Help function uses a pop-up guide to help the user when switching settings.

• Voice recording function with playback from the camera’s speaker.

• Photostand feature allowing a slideshow of images while the camera sits in its cradle.

• Calendar function shows thumbnail images of photos taken on any specified date.

• World Time function allows the user to set the camera to the local time in one of 162 cities in 32 time zones around the world.

• Store special photos or those you don’t want others to see in your own Favorites folder.

• Create HTML albums in the camera that which can be viewed directly by Web browsers.

• The color LCD with two levels of brightness to choose from to suit users' needs.

• Connects directly to PictBridge and USB DIRECT-PRINT compatible printers.

• 9.3MB internal flash memory, compatible with SD memory card / Multi Media Card (not included.)

• Menu display can be set in 10 languages, including Chinese (simplified and traditional), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish

• Photo Loader software allows automatic transfer of images to a PC at the touch of a single button on the USB cradle.

• Compatible with ExifPrint (Exif 2.2) and PRINT Image Matching III.